


Avatar: The Legend of Aiyoku

by Mekanomi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 01:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11302917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mekanomi/pseuds/Mekanomi
Summary: This is my telling of the story were during the hundred year war the Avatar is a girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Aiyoku. Along with her adopted brother Shu, an Earthbender, and long time friend Mokka, an Airbender, Aiyoku will travel the world learning the four elements and defeat the Fire Lord before the Fire Nation win the war.





	1. Chapter 1: The Girl from the South Pole

Earth … Fire … Air … Water … 

My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.

Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.   
– Introduced by Aiyoku

The Girl From The South Pole

A teenage boy, Shu, long olive-green hair, stands in the canoe. He looks down at the water, spear at the ready. The other occupant is a young girl, medium length brown hair and bangs that hang in her face. Both wear blue overcoats. The canoe drifts slowly as the boy concentrates on fishing. Beside the boat a fish swims close to the surface in front of the boy.

“It's not getting away from me this time.” he looks to the girl. “Watch and learn, Aiyoku. This is how you catch a fish.”

Aiyoku leans over the edge of the canoe to see a fish. Hesitantly, she removes her left glove. She takes a deep breath and with a look of trepidation begins to motion with her exposed hand. Suddenly, a globe of water containing the fish bursts out of the water.

“Shu, look!”

“Shhh. Aiyoku, you're gonna scare it away.” he whispers. He looks to the fish licking his lips. “Mmmm... I can already smell it cookin'!”

Aiyoku, trying to retain control of the globe of water, says to the boy. “But Shu! I caught one!”

She struggles with the blob of water and it floats closer to Shu, who raises his spear to strike a fish. When he cocks his arm back he burst the bubble of water. The fish falls back into the sea and Shu gets drenched.

“Hey!” Aiyoku retorts.

“Ugh! Why is it that every time you play with magic water I get soaked?” Shu says wringing out his ponytail

Aiyoku crosses her arms with a huff. “It's not magic. It's waterbending, and it's-”

“Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah.” Shu brushes her off. “Look, I'm just saying that even though I’m an earthbender I keep my weirdness to myself.”

“You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water.”

Currently Shu is making a muscle and looking at his reflection in the water. He turns to Aiyoku and gives her a look. Suddenly the boat is bumped, they look up to see they have entered an ice packed area. They begin to work frantically to maneuver the canoe between the icebergs.

“Ahhh!”

“Watch out! Go left! Go left!” Aiyoku shouts as Shu tries to steer the canoe.

It threads its way through the ice pack. Icebergs are colliding all around them. Each time they manage to avoid getting crushed between the colliding icebergs, but their safety margins decreases rapidly each time. Finally the canoe is crushed when three icebergs collide at once. Shu and Aiyoku jump out in time onto one of the icebergs. They float on a small ice chunk in the middle of empty water. They are now at the mercy of the currents.

“You call that left?” Aiyoku says with a bit of an additude.

“You don't like my steering. Well, maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice.” Shu combats.

Aiyoku stands and looks down at Shu. “So it's my fault?”

“I knew I should have left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up.”

Aiyoku's anger begins boiling over. She points at her brother. “You are the most sexist, immature, nut brained...” As she gets more excited, the iceberg on which they are sitting begins to heave. The huge iceberg behind her cracks. “Ugh, I'm embarrassed to call you my brother! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!”

Shu notices the cracking iceberg. “Uh... Aiyoku?”

“I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT!”

“Aiyoku! Settle down!”

“No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!”

By the end she is screaming. As she finishes, the iceberg behind her splits open entirely. It disintegrates and the major pieces fall into the water, pushing their iceberg away. They hold on desperately until the iceberg settles. A huge shaft of white blue light shoots straight into the heavens.

“Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Aiyoku.” Shu says looking to his sister.

Aiyoku looks into the sky as the light begins to fade. “You mean I did that?”

“Yup. Congratulations.”

... ...

An iron hulled battleship with a spiked prow cutting through the sea is also nearby. It is apparently steam powered as it has a single smokestack. The bow is much longer than the stern. The bridge appears to be several decks above the main deck. A young man stands on the bow dressed in red, shaven-headed except for a pony-tail, staring intently at the shaft of light in front of the ship. The left side of his face is badly scarred around his eye. This is Prince Zuko. The light from the light shaft dissipates.

“Finally.” He turns to address someone. “Uncle, do you realize what this means?”

The person he's talking to is Iroh, an old man seated cross legged at a low table, drinking tea and playing a game involving domino like objects.

“I won't get to finish my game?” he says with a sigh.

“It means my search - it's about to come to an end.”

Iroh groans.

“That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!”

“Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?”

Zuko explodes in anger. “I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar. Helmsman, head a course for the light!”

... ... 

Shu is still shielding his sister from the blast that just dissipated. They look up to see residual blue light still swirling around the top of what is left of the iceberg.

“How did that happen?” came a voice.

Shu and Aiyoku look up to see a large flying bison named Appa. It lands in the water revealing a small girl riding the top of it's head. She has long pink hair pulled back to reveal an arrow on her forehead. This is Mokka, a young Master Airbender from the Southern Temples and long time friend of the pair.

“Mokka! Nice timing.” Aiyoku waved.

“What's up?” she says with a smile.

Aiyoku glares over at Shu. “Shu got us stranded.”

Mokka is about to comment, but doesn't as Appa begins to sneeze. Aiyoku ducks in time as Appa proceeds to sneeze all over Shu.

“Ewww! Aahh!!!” Shu, covered in snot, tries to get rid of it by rolling around on the ice and snow.

“Don't worry. It'll wash out.” Mokka laughs.

“Ugh!”

“You never answered me about that weird light.” Mokka asks.

“I don't know what that was.” Aiyoku answers.

“After seeing that light beam thing I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense.” Shu says. Shu turns to walk off, but is stopped at the iceberg's edge. They see just how desolate the area is. Just sea and ice.

“Well, if you guys are stuck Appa and I can give you a lift.” Mokka says grabbing the reigns.

“We'd love a ride! Thanks!” She gets on Appa.

Shu shakes his head. “Oh, no... I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster again.”

Aiyoku looks down at Shu. “Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know... before you freeze to death?” she asks in a sarcastic tone.

Shu starts to say something and gives up before he does. He sighs. Aiyoku and Shu now sit in the back part of the saddle. Aiyoku looks excited. Shu looks grumpy, arms folded across his chest.

“Appa, yip yip!” 

... ... 

As the sun sets Prince Zuko's Fire Navy ship continues through the icy water. Zuko, on the spotting deck off the bridge, is approached by Iroh.

“I'm going to bed now.” He makes an exaggerated yawn. “Yep. A man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him.” He shakes his head. “Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”

“Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over.” Zuko says, his eyes never leave the horizon ahead.

... ... 

In the South Pole village a rather large group of small children play with Appa, while five teenage girls, four of them are wearing fighting attire and are surrounding Aiyoku, also wearing fighting attire. They attack. Aiyoku grabs the collar of the girl in front of her and throws her into the girl behind her. She squats down, dodging the other two. They fall as Aiyoku grabs their ankles and pulls.

Mokka is sit nearby. She cheers. “That was great! Like always, Aiyoku, you are the best warrior.”

“Doesn't mean much since I still haven't been able to join my dad to fight in the war.” Aiyoku sighs removing her armor.

“Not to mention your situation with Prince –“ Mokka begins but Aiyoku claps her hand over her mouth.

“Don't mention that name.”

Gran Gran claps getting both girl's attention. “All right. No more playing. Come on, Aiyoku, you have chores.” Gran Gran leads Aiyoku away.

... ... 

The sun is just on the horizon, giving the sky an orange glow, as Zuko's ship cutting through the waves. Zuko faces two Fire Navy seamen. Iroh sits nearby.

“Again.” Iroh commands. 

Zuko blasts fire from his hands at the guards, but misses. Then the guards attack Zuko with blasts of fire from their fists, but Zuko dodges. He back flips over the guards to land behind them. 

Iroh sighs and gets up. “No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire.” Iroh demonstrates, releasing a controlling plume of flame that bursts in front of Zuko, but does not hit him. “Get it right this time.”

“Enough.” Zuko says approaching his uncle. “I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready.”

“No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics.” Iroh says then continues more forcefully. “Drill it again!”

Zuko blasts one of the guards backwards with a gout of fire. “The sages tell us that the Avatar must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!”

“Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck.” Iroh begins eating.

... ...

Shu, clearly addressing an audience as he paces back and forth. sitting next to him is Mokka and Aiyoku clearly bored out of their minds.

“Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?”

The audience is a group of six children, most of whom are toddlers.

A little boy raises his hand. “I gotta pee!”

“Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks.” Shu say to the boy sternly.

“But I really gotta go.”

Shu sighs. “Okay... who else has to go?”

All six raise their hands. Shu slaps his forehead in disgust as all six exit the area.

Mokka laughs. “Shu you really should calm down. Just cause you're the only teenage boy here doesn't mean you have to boss around the little ones. They need to have fun.”

“Ugh! Aiyoku, get her out of here. This lesson is for warriors only.” Shu says in anger.

“Wheeee!”

The children have propped up Appa's tail using a makeshift sawhorse. They're using Appa's back and tail as a slide to land in a pile of snow. The children, and soon Aiyoku, all start laughing.

“Stop! Stop it right now!” Shu says removing the stick that made the saw horse. He turns to Mokka. “What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on.”

Mokka's gaze shifts slightly off of Shu to look at something beyond him.

“PENGUIN!”

In the distance stands a single penguin. The penguin, aware that it has been spotted, makes an excited noise and turns to waddle away. Mokka uses her airbending skill to run at unbelievable speed toward the horizon where the penguin had just been.

“She's kidding, right?” Shu says looking sideways at Aiyoku. 

There is a snowy beach loaded with penguins who waddle around squawking. Aiyoku enters, looking for Mokka.

“Mokka?”

Mokka is chasing some penguins, but unable to catch them as they waddle away.

“Haha! Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?” Mokka lunges, but falls flat on her face. She gets back up as Aiyoku approaches. “I have a way with animals.” She puts her arms out and waddles in imitation of the four flippered penguins. “Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp!”

Aiyoku giggles. “Hahaha... Mokka, I'll help you catch a penguin if you help me master waterbending.”

Mokka looks up at Aiyoku as she's being dragged by a penguin. “You got a deal! Just one little problem. I'm an airbender, not a waterbender. What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you.”

“Maybe. But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier.' It's on the other side of the world.” Aiyoku says stretching her arms out. 

Mokka smiles. “But you forget: I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Aiyoku, we're gonna find you a master!”

Aiyoku looks happily at Mokka. “That's...” Then she becomes uncertain. “I mean, I don't know.”

“Well, you think about it. But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?” Mokka asks. 

Aiyoku begins in a mock teacherly tone. “Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe.” She produces a little fish from her coat and tosses it at Mokka. She is instantly surrounded by a horde of hungry penguins.

It's late afternoon when suddenly, Aiyoku and Mokka rocket off the ice bank, each sitting atop a penguin. They land on the bank below and continue down at high speed on the penguin's belly. Mokka and her penguin take a jump off a small ramp, eventually landing in front of Aiyoku. She takes the jump and lands near her. They laugh and whoop happily.

“I haven't done this since I was a kid!” Aiyoku shouts over the rushing wind. 

“You still are a kid!” Mokka laughs.

They continue to rocket across the frozen landscape, eventually entering a system of ice tunnels. The tunnels all have periodic gaps where sunlight pours through. They emerge from the tunnels and get off their mounts, which stand up and dizzily wander away making little chirping noises. They walk forward, looking at something in front of them.

“Whoa... what is that?” Mokka says staring up at the thing infront of them.

Before them is a huge ship locked in the ice. It is a derelict Fire Navy ship, silhouetted by the sun behind it.

“A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people.”Aiyoku says deathly serious. Mokka begins to walk to the ship. “Mokka, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby trapped.”

“If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear.” Mokka says looking back at her friend.

Aiyoku looks uncertain, then follows her to the ship. They climb up and enter the ship through a gaping hole in one of forward compartments below the water line. They walk around the dark corridors inside past many a darkened room.

“This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks.” Aiyoku informs in a serious tone. 

“Kinda scary in here.”

Aiyoku smiles. “Come on. Let's get out of here.”

Mokka enters a darkened room on the ship, Aiyoku behind in the hallway.

“Mokka? Let's head back. This place is creepy.” Aiyoku says in concern.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Mokka's foot dragging a trip wire on the floor. Behind them the door is blocked by a grate that drops from the ceiling. They grab it just after it falls shut. They are trapped.

“What's that you said about booby traps?” Mokka asks. 

Around them, machinery in the room starts to operate. Gauges show steam pressure and wheels begin to turn. Steam begins to pour out of some of the equipment. Suddenly, a bright flare explodes out of the Fire Navy ship and into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Mokka and Aiyoku look out the window of the ship's bridge.

“Uh oh.”

The flare continues to raise. When it reaches its zenith it explodes with a small shower of sparks. 

There is a hole in the ceiling that Mokka is looking at.

“Hold on tight!” Mokka says as she grabs Aiyoku, who cries out in surprise, and launches them both through the hole in the ceiling. She lands with Aiyoku in her arms on top of the bridge.

... ... 

“The Avatar.” Zuko is looking through his telescope. “Quite agile for his old age. Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar...” Zuko looks back into his telescope to see Mokka and Aiyoku running across the ice away from the ship. He then scans left quickly, then pulls it back right to focus on Aiyoku's village. “...as well as his hiding place.” He arches his eyebrow in determination.


	2. Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns

Earth … Fire … Air … Water …

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. 

A hundred years have passed and the Avatar has returned. However it's not as everyone thought. 

Aiyoku is a waterbender. And even though her waterbending skills are great, she still has a lot to learn before she ready to save anyone. 

But I believe, Aiyoku can save the world.  
– Introduced by Mokka

The Avatar Returns

The flare set off by Mokka falls from the sky. It is nearly sunset. Gran Gran and some other villagers look down the ice road out of their village to see Mokka and Aiyoku in the distance walking toward them. As they approach, the children run forward to greet them.

“Yay! Their back!” the children cheer as they approach the two. 

The children gather around Mokka as Shu comes forward angrily.

“You could've signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You'll be leading them straight to us!”

“We didn't do anything. It was an accident.” Aiyoku says crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap and well...” Mokka says putting her hand to her head as if trying to puzzle out the thought. “...we 'boobied' right into it.”

Gran Gran shakes her head. “Aiyoku, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger!”

“Don't blame Aiyoku! I brought her there. It's my fault.” Mokka says looking downcast.

Shu sighs then smiles slightly. Shu starts directing everyone through the village gate. “All right! Ready our defenses! The Fire Nation could be on our shores any moment now!”

A little boy stops, raising his head and dancing about suggestively. “But, I gotta –“

Shu cuts him off forcefully and points to the fortifications. “And no potty breaks!”

Shu puts on his war garb. Fingerless gloves, arm wraps, boots and face paint are all applied silently. The other female teenage warriors put their war garb on.

Zuko's ship steams ahead, Zuko is being helped into his armor by some attendants. He guards himself with a breastplate, shoulder guard and helmet.

Shu leaves his tent with his weapons. Shu and the other warriors, minus Aiyoku, stand atop the ice wall of the village, scanning the mist for any sign of the enemy. Suddenly, a deep rumbling noise is heard and the ground begins to shake. Parts of the wall on which they stand begins to crumble. The villagers look around in alarm.

Pandemonium breaks out in the village as people being to run every which way. Aiyoku is in their midst, but stops, seeing something in the mist. Still atop the wall, Shu and the warriors look small. Suddenly a massive shadow emerges from the mist, dwarfing them. It is the bow of Prince Zuko's ship.

Shu looks at it in shock. “Ohhh, man!”

Prince Zuko's vessel begins to cut through the ice all the way to the village wall itself. As the ships continue to ice break towards the wall, Aiyoku puts Gran Gran into one of the igloos in the rear, Mokka gets a little child out of harm's way as the ice floor of the village begins to crack all over the place under the stress.

As she puts the child in a tent, she turns to look back to Shu. The ship reaches the wall, Shu poised both tragically and comically to the ships hull with his weapon.

“Shu, get out of the way!” Mokka shouts.

As the ship reaches the wall, it collapses into a heap of ice and snow which tumbles back into the village, carrying Shu and the other warriors with it. The ship has come to a halt. Steam wafts up from where the bow has split the ice. The villagers, Aiyoku and Mokka in front, have emerged from their shelters and stare in trepidation and amazement at the ship. Aiyoku draws a deep breath in anticipation. Shu looks up at the ship, also drawing breath.

With a noise of metal on metal the bowsprit of the ship opens and folds out and down onto the village's floor. The bowsprit has become a huge gangplank, similar to the Roman corvus, for disembarking Fire Nation troops. Shu falls backwards to avoid being crushed by the bowsprit.

As the steam clears from the top of the bowsprit, Zuko and a host of Fire Nation soldiers are revealed. Zuko begins walking down the gangplank stairs followed by guards.

The warriors, get up and charge Zuko with an adolescent war cry. As one runs up the steps to the Prince, Zuko casually and expertly kicks her weapon out of her hand and then kicks her in the face, sending her sprawling on the ice to the planks right. Her head gets stuck in the snow and she struggles comically to free herself. The villagers draw back in fright at the ease with which their warrior has been dispatched by the invaders. Zuko walks forward to address the village. He looks over the crowd, then walks over to Aiyoku, Mokka and Gran Gran.

“Where are you hiding him?” he says to them. He looks around the crowd as there is no immediate response. He grabs Gran Gran and shows her to the villagers. “He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?”

Again no one responds. After a brief pause, he throws Gran Gran roughly back to Aiyoku. With a cry of frustration he launches a gout of flame over the villager's heads. They cower in fear.

“I know you're hiding him!”

Behind Zuko, another warrior runs at him. She retrieves her weapon and charges Zuko with a cry. Zuko turns to her in annoyance. He dodges the girl's charges and flips her over his head. Zuko fires a blast of flame at her, but she rolls out of the way. Yet another warrior appears throwing her boomerang at Zuko. Caught by surprise, Zuko barely avoids the boomerang. He turns to look back in anger at the girl over the near miss. Another warrior with the villagers behind her gets her spear thrown to her by one of the little boys. 

“Show no fear!” he says as he throws it.

She catches the spear and charges Zuko, who, as she reaches him, breaks off pieces of the spear shaft with his wrist guards. After the head of the spear has been shorn off, Zuko grabs the spear, boinks her on the forehead with it several times, then breaks it in half and drops the pieces on the ground. The warrior, after getting bonked on the head, has also sunk to the ground, rubbing her head. Zuko stands sternly over her. In the sky a small rock appears. It slams Zuko in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off kilter. 

Shu gives Zuko a serious look. “Get out of our village.”

Furious, Zuko begins to spit fire out of his hands as he turns menacingly on Shu.

Aiyoku motioning her hand slightly causing a large pile of snow to fly forward right under Zuko, sweeping his legs out from under him. Zuko lands butt up. The helmet lands on his behind in a most suggestive manner. The children cheer as Aiyoku steps forward. Aiyoku looks over at the Firebenders. Zuko gets to his feet and assuming a firebending stance, Aiyoku stand at the ready, surrounded by Zuko and his men. They begin to close in, but Aiyoku blows the men on either side of her backwards with blasts of air. She blasts Zuko as well, but he holds his ground, shielding his face from the wind.

“Looking for me?”

“You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?” Zuko says incredulous.

Mokka looks on in surprise. “Aiyoku?”

“No way.” Shu says in shock.

Zuko and Aiyoku maneuver for position against each other in the middle of a village that has become an arena.

“I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!” Zuko says angerly.

“Well, you're just a teenager.” Aiyoku counters.

Zuko fires blast after blast. Aiyoku cries out. She is hard pressed, fear showing on her face. Aiyoku dissipates each blast as it strikes by lifting snow in front of her. The dissipation doesn't block the fire from reaching the villagers, though, and they cry out. Aiyoku looks behind to them and realizes she can't protect them all.

“If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?”

After a brief pause Zuko straightens up and nods stiffly. A soldier leads her to the ship. Mokka rushes forward.

“No, Aiyoku! Don't do this!”

“Don't worry, Mokka, it'll be okay.” The soldiers push her forward roughly. “Take care of the village for me until I get back.”

“Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home.”

They board the ship and the bowsprit rises back up. Aiyoku looks back hopefully at her friends as the ship closes. Mokka's eyes water as the prison closes around Aiyoku. Her smile drops as she sees her pain. The shadow of the closing bowsprit closes over her, then the bowsprit snaps into place.

… … 

The jagged path through the ice that Zuko's ship opened is plainly visible as is the shattered village wall. Life goes on, however, the fire at the center of the village smokes and villagers are visible going about their work. The villagers tend the fire, dig out the watchtower and re-raise tents. They look sad. Mokka stands at the water's edge looking out at the sun rising over the sea, as Shu walks by carrying some things.

“We have to go after that ship, Shu.” Mokka says not noticing Shu behind her. “Aiyoku saved us; now we have to save her.”

“Mokka, I—“

Mokka continues, “If we don't help her, no one will. I know you think Aiyoku is a pain, but we owe her and I—“ 

“Mokka! Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?” Shu motions to his left to show a canoe ready to go.

“Shu!” Mokka exclaims with a happy gasp. She gives him a bear hug.

Gran Gran approaches them from behind. “What do you two think you're doing?” They turn and try to look innocent. Gran Gran looks momentarily severe, but then smiles and offers them a blue bundle. “You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope. But you three brought it back to life.” She hugs Mokka. “And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister.” She hugs Shu.

“Yeah... okay, Gran.” Shu says barely hugging her back.

“Aiyoku is the Avatar. She's the world's only chance. You three are friends for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with hers.” 

Mokka turns to the canoe. “There's no way we're gonna catch a war ship with a canoe.”

Just as she finishes her sentence Appa appears on the hill side. He emits a low rumble as he approaches.

“Appa!” She runs toward Appa.

“You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?” Shu says sadly. 

… … 

Zuko's ship's prow cuts through the ice packed water. On the foredeck. Aiyoku, hands bound behind her, faces Zuko, Iroh and a bunch of guards.

“You will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold.” Zuko says as he departs.

Below deck, Aiyoku is being escorted along one of the ship's hallways.

She looks to the guards. “So... I guess you never fought an Avatar before. I bet I can take you both with my hands tied behind my back.

“Silence!”

They stop in front of a door. As one of the guards moves to open the door with a key, Aiyoku draws a great breath and blows the guard with the key into the door, knocking him out. The breath also propels her backwards and into the guard behind her. They are blown all the way back down the hallway. They crash into the stairs they came down on. The guard is knocked out since Aiyoku used him to cushion her own impact. Aiyoku then airbends herself back up onto the deck and airbends the door at the end of the deck open. She enters the ship and runs down the hall. 

One of the guards Aiyoku just escaped from emerges onto the deck and shouts up to a guard on the bridge deck. “The Avatar has escaped!”

Aiyoku runs down one of the ship's hallways, looking behind her for pursuers. her hands are still bound behind her. She turns and starts to run forward – right into three Fire Nation soldiers blocking her way, weapons drawn.

“You haven't seen a way out of here, have you?”

Aiyoku runs forward and up and around the guards by running along the walls and ceiling in corkscrew circles. She gets by them with ease and they look at her retreating form with surprise.

“Thanks anyway!”

She runs into another hallway, this time blocked by a single guard. He blasts a fireball at her, but she avoids it by launching herself over the guards head. Aiyoku passes overhead while cutting her restraints by catching them on the horn of the guard's helmet. The rope breaks and the guard is thrown off balance and onto the ground. Aiyoku, her hands now free, continues running. Aiyoku opens random doors as she goes by, trying to find a way out. The last door she opens reveals a snoring Iroh.

“Sorry...” Aiyoku whispers as she shuts the door.

She then runs by another open door, stops and turns back to it.

“A window!”

She enters and the door shuts behind her. Zuko was hiding in wait for the Avatar.

“Looks like I underestimated you.” Zuko says with malice.

After a brief pause, Zuko begins blasting fire at Aiyoku, who barely dodges. She is terrified and she gasps and pants to catch her breath. After dodging a few more shots, Aiyoku rolls underneath Zuko to get behind him. By staying behind him, using a stance that Mokka taught her, Zuko is unable to blast her with fire.

Aiyoku says jokingly, “You know if you were facing the other way it would be like we were dancing.”

Aiyoku then faces Zuko. She dissipates each fireball with a small air ball she forms with her hands. Aiyoku creates an air scooter and rides around the walls and ceiling of the room, all the time getting licked by the gouts of flame Zuko unleashes at her. Aiyoku loses the airball and grabs a tapestry off the wall. She wraps Zuko up in it as she passes. While Zuko struggles against the tapestry, Aiyoku readies herself in a fighting stance. Zuko breaks his restraint, causing Aiyoku to grimace and they once again square off against each other.

“First of all, I’m sixteen, not a child.” 

After a few seconds of maneuvering, Aiyoku airbends a mattress up off the floor and slams it into Zuko. The mattress propels Zuko into the opposite wall. He is smashed into it and he falls to the ground, onto the mattress. Aiyoku then airbends the mattress up with Zuko, smashing him into the ceiling. 

Aiyoku, as she airbends the mattress, says, “Second of all, I'm originally a waterbender not an airbender. See ya later. Loser!”

Both fall back down to the ground. Zuko looks up in anger to find Aiyoku gone.

The wheel mechanism that opens a deck hatch on the floor begins to spin. The hatch opens and Aiyoku airbends herself on to the bridge from below. Aiyoku rushes forward out on to the bridge's observation deck. She jumps from the bridge prepared to land on the deck below. Unfortunately, behind her, Zuko has jumped after her in pursuit. With a fierce cry of desperation, he grabs Aiyoku. They plummet to the deck. Both get up and square off yet again. Aiyoku's look of trepidation is tempered as she turns over her left shoulder to see Appa up in the sky gaining on Zuko's ship.

“What is that?” Zuko asks as he looks on in wonder at the large bison.

Mokka and Shu close in on the ship.

Aiyoku sees her friends. “Appa!”

Aiyoku turns just in time to use water to block a fire blast from Zuko. She uses the water as a shield to escape the blasts. When her water evaporates she jumps to avoid the blasts and lands back down on the edge of the deck, almost falling overboard. She regains her balance and dodges a few more blasts before she is finally knocked overboard. Aiyoku falls into the water below.

Mokka shouts hysterically, “Aiyoku! No!”

Aiyoku begin to sinks.

“Aiyoku! Aiyoku! AIYOKU!”

At Mokka's final scream, Aiyoku's eyes glow white and tribal markings appear on her cheeks, chin, and the visible parts of her neck, chest, and biceps, an expression of determination forming on her face. She turns around in the water and begins to rise towards the surface. Around her, a mighty whirlpool of water begins to form. Aiyoku is at the center of a now monstrous, inverted tornado of water that is being propelled toward the surface at amazing speed. She breaks the surface in front of the ship, towering high over the bridge atop her swirling maelstrom of water. Zuko looks up at the swirling column of water and the Avatar at its pinnacle with dismay and fear. Aiyoku lands on the deck, her eyes still aglow, and bends the water from the column around her in a circle. She releases it and it expands outward in a shockwave that blasts Zuko and his men overboard. Shu and Mokka witness the scene from Appa's back above.

“Did you see what she just did?” Mokka says in shock and surprise.

“Now that was some waterbending!” Shu looks on in awe.

Aiyoku is on her knees, wobbling after the huge energy expenditure. She falls forward, the white energy fading from her eyes and her markings disappear. Appa lands and Mokka and Shu jump off to retrieve her.

“Aiyoku! Are you okay?” Mokka asks as she approaches her friend. Mokka kneels, holding up Aiyoku, Shu beside her.

Aiyoku is clearly drained. “Hey Mokka. Hey Shu. Thanks for coming.”

Shu smiles. “Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory.”

As the two friends try to lift Aiyoku to her feet and get her on Appa. They hear Zuko climbing back onto the ship. Shu uses Mokka's staff and butts Zuko in the head with it three times as Zuko did to the warrior earlier. Zuko lets go and begins to fall to the water below, but grabs the anchor chain in time. He hangs by one hand.

“Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!”

Appa gets up, shaking off some water. Some of the guards, who had been washed way down the deck by Aiyoku's waterbending, get up, preparing for combat. Aiyoku, weakly, picks up a stream of water from the deck and the guards pull back slightly in fear. She tries to whip the guards with the water, but instead freezes the water on the deck, including the water around Shu's feet.

“Aiyoku!”

Shu starts to chip away at the ice holding his feet with Mokka's staff while the soldiers move forward once again. Aiyoku picks up another stream of water and tries throwing it at the soldiers again. They become frozen in a thin sheet of ice.

“Hurry up, Shu!” Mokka shouts as she airbenders her way onto Appa.

Shu finally frees himself and runs up Appa's tail. “Yip yip! Yip yip!”

Once he is onboard, Appa rumbles and takes off. At that time Iroh emerges onto the deck after his nap, looking up to the sky in question. Iroh goes over to help Zuko back onto the ship.

Zuko kneels for a moment before shouting in command. “Shoot them down!”

As Appa gains altitude, Zuko and Iroh in unison launch a massive bolt of fire at Appa. Aiyoku and Shu look behind them in horror at the approaching fireball.

Aiyoku exclaims to her friend. “Mokka hand me your staff!”

Aiyoku jumps up and, using the staff like a baseball bat, airbends a gale that sends the fireball at a right angle away from Appa and into the ice cliff nearby. The fireball explodes, releasing a huge amount of ice from the cliff wall which falls into the narrow channel that Zuko's ship is navigating. Zuko gasps in horror as the bow of the ship and indeed the entire channel is blocked up under an avalanche of ice. Aiyoku, Mokka and Shu laugh as they fly away.

“Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little girl.” Iroh says to his nephew. 

Zuko looks back at his uncle. “That girl, Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate her again. Dig this ship out and follow them!” Some soldiers are using controlled firebending to thaw out their compatriots frozen by Aiyoku. “As soon as you're done with that.”

… … 

It's sunset as Appa flies through the clouds.

“How did you do that? With my staff? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.” Mokka says in awe. 

Aiyoku sits cross legged on the saddle, a slightly sad expression on her face. “I don't know. I just sort of... did it.”

“Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?” Mokka asks.

“Because... I never wanted to be.” Aiyoku says looking downcast.

Overhead, a cloud passes over them, momentarily blocking the fading sunlight. After it passes, they enter a shaft of sunlight.

Mokka looks to her friend in concern. “But Aiyoku, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war.”

Aiyoku looks down sadly. “And how am I going to do that?”

“According to legend, you need to first master water, earth, fire, then air, right?”

Aiyoku looks at Mokka. “That's what the sages told me.”

“Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending.” Mokka suggests.

Aiyoku smiles to Mokka. “And you can teach me airbending!” She looks to her brother. “And Shu, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way.”

“I'd like that. I'd really like that.”

“Then we're in this together.” Aiyoku exclaims in joy.

Mokka produces a scroll, “All right, but before you learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to –“ She airbends herself over to them and opens the scroll to reveal a map, “here, here, and here.”

She points to two spots in the Earth Kingdom, and one spot on the southern Air Nomad islands in quick succession.

“What's there?” Aiyoku asks pointing to one of the spots.

Mokka points to the eastern Earth Kingdom, “Here we'll ride the hopping llamas.” She then points to a spot on the soutern Air Temple islands. “Then way over here we'll surf on the backs of giant Koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!”


End file.
